Aquaforest reef salt !!!

[Jaybeastin]

Given that all the parameters are measuring low, it appears to me that the salinity is low.

How are you measuring salinity?

Does your salinity device require calibration, and if so, how have you checked it?

Refractometer, calibrated with the solution . I bought a new one thinking mine was broken and I had a friend check it for me. Was in fact working correctly. I mix at 1.026 salinity

 

[Jaybeastin]

Until it doesn’t.

Reef Crystals is easily one of the most inconsistent salts on the market

1/1 so far better than Aquaforest lol now i know to test a new batch each time.

 

[Pistondog]

Using af reef salt for 3 years now, no issues im aware of.
But ill do audit checks for a few batches to see if they match the params from batch id on the bucket.

 

[rtparty]

1/1 so far better than Aquaforest lol now i know to test a new batch each time.

What numbers are on your Reef Crystals bucket?

 

[gbroadbridge]

Refractometer, calibrated with the solution . I bought a new one thinking mine was broken and I had a friend check it for me. Was in fact working correctly. I mix at 1.026 salinity

I'm not sure which solution you mean, most commercial calibration solutions are unreliable.

You may wish to check calibration using a DIY made from scratch as then you can be certain of a accuracy.

I struggle with a commercial Salt Mix being incorrect, as it is very rare.

 

[SomeHappyFish]

One bad bucket and you switch to a new brand of salt, that you have not tested before and you now claim this brand is "better" ?

Something fishy is going on imo.

 

[Jaybeastin]

One bad bucket and you switch to a new brand of salt, that you have not tested before and you now claim this brand is "better" ?

Something fishy is going on imo.

One bad bucket? Reading is fundamental and I’m only spreading more awareness about this with other people having the same issue.

 

[Jaybeastin]

What numbers are on your Reef Crystals bucket?

Cal 455 and mag 1345

I have the same exact test results as this guy with reef crystal

 

[Jaybeastin]

I'm not sure which solution you mean, most commercial calibration solutions are unreliable.

You may wish to check calibration using a DIY made from scratch as then you can be certain of a accuracy.

I struggle with a commercial Salt Mix being incorrect, as it is very rare.

If my refractometer was off then it would make sense for me to have incorrect parameters for reef crystals also correct? But that isn’t the case so that rules out my refractometer being incorrect.

AF @ 1.026 states that I should get ALk 7.7-8.3 , CaL 440-460 , Mag 1360-1420

My results over 20x of testing has been consistently Alk 5.7-6.3 , Cal 360-380, Mag 1100-1200
I also had my reef buddy test it for me and it was the same thing.

Reef crystals parameters that states on the bucket at 1.026 Cal 455 & Mag 1345

My results are Alk 10.9 Cal 460 Mag 1350

I have the same results for reef crystals as this guy on YouTube .

It’s clear that my refractometer is reading correctly or close enough.

 

[Reef_at_Sea]

I stopped using AF salt because of weird parameters (ICP) & went to use Modern Reef salt.
Now my tank looks better then ever...

 

[Jaybeastin]

I stopped using AF salt because of weird parameters (ICP) & went to use Modern Reef salt.
Now my tank looks better then ever...

Glad to hear! I’m on the road to recovery! My SPS doesn’t like the new higher Alk from reef crystals :/ even when I’m doing small water changes every week. that’s why I wanted to like AF so bad

 

[Reef_at_Sea]

Glad to hear! I’m on the road to recovery! My SPS doesn’t like the new higher Alk from reef crystals :/ even when I’m doing small water changes every week. that’s why I wanted to like AF so bad

Are you able to get a hold of Modern Reef salt?
That salt is made specifically for SPS & even more specifically for Acros. iirc!

 

[Pod_01]

Silly question,

That salt is made specifically for SPS & even more specifically for Acros. iirc!

What makes salt Acros salt???

 

[Reef_at_Sea]

Silly question,

What makes salt Acros salt???

It's not really "Acros salt".
Look at it more this way: Modern reef is a product of Euro Corals & Euro corals have been known to succesfully aqua culture acroporas & other stony coral.
They use this specific salt of their own to do this.

Long story short, they made their own salt to aqua culture acros & other stony coral better.

 

[ReefQuestCorals]

I recently had an issue using AF Reef Salt+, I did not notice any difference until getting towards the bottom of the bucket when some of my lps started recessing. I checked alk (it had been a few water changes) and my alk had creeped up to 14.2 dkh.

I went right back to Instant ocean and followed up with 2 water changes that week, tested alk at 9 dkh with IO and got the tank down to 11.4 dkh. This is the 2nd attempt at using AF, several years ago I tried it on my sps dominate tank and also noticed changes in corals polyp extension and color. Again just went back to using Instant Ocean brand without any issues.

 

[Pistondog]

On the last 5 gallons of my 35 gallon batch of af reef salt, made 30 days ago.
8.2 dkh, as expected

 

[Pod_01]

It's not really "Acros salt".
Look at it more this way: Modern reef is a product of Euro Corals & Euro corals have been known to succesfully aqua culture acroporas & other stony coral.
They use this specific salt of their own to do this.

Long story short, they made their own salt to aqua culture acros & other stony coral better.

Let me ask the question another way, what is it about their salt that makes “stony corals better “?

There are many great coral farm keepers, I don’t necessarily buy into the idea that being successful at coral keeping translates into developing superior reef keeping system. I am just curious what makes their salt special…

 

[Aquaforest]

Aquaforest reef salt is terrible!!!!!!

My parameters has been all over the place after a water change. I like to keep my tank parameters almost the same as the reef salt.

I’ve used about 1000g of Aquaforest salt. I have tested the last two batches of salt and it’s been WAY OFF! I thought it me testing it wrong! So I got a new refractometer and new test kits and reagent. Still the same results!!

I switched to reef crystals and bam!!! I had nearly the same exact parameters that match the box every single time!!


So please stay away from Aquaforest!

Hello @Jaybeastin

We’re really sorry to hear about your experience and appreciate you sharing your feedback. We completely understand how frustrating it must be when parameters don't align as expected, especially when you're putting in so much effort to maintain stability in your tank.

At Aquaforest, we take quality control very seriously and each batch of our salt is thoroughly tested before leaving the factory. However, if something seems off, we always encourage reaching out directly to our support team with the lot number of the salt, so we can investigate it further.

We're also happy to analyze your test results and support you in identifying what might have caused the discrepancies. There are many variables involved in testing (equipment calibration, storage, environmental conditions, etc.), and we’re here to help get to the bottom of it.

Once again, we’re sorry for the inconvenience, and we truly hope we can regain your trust. Please don’t hesitate to contact us at [email protected] - we’d love the opportunity to assist you directly.

 

[Jaybeastin]

Hello @Jaybeastin

We’re really sorry to hear about your experience and appreciate you sharing your feedback. We completely understand how frustrating it must be when parameters don't align as expected, especially when you're putting in so much effort to maintain stability in your tank.

At Aquaforest, we take quality control very seriously and each batch of our salt is thoroughly tested before leaving the factory. However, if something seems off, we always encourage reaching out directly to our support team with the lot number of the salt, so we can investigate it further.

We're also happy to analyze your test results and support you in identifying what might have caused the discrepancies. There are many variables involved in testing (equipment calibration, storage, environmental conditions, etc.), and we’re here to help get to the bottom of it.

Once again, we’re sorry for the inconvenience, and we truly hope we can regain your trust. Please don’t hesitate to contact us at [email protected] - we’d love the opportunity to assist you directly.

UPDATE!!

I’ve been trying to use up the remaining the salt I have and adjust the FRESH batch when needed . After 4 small water change and I tested every one of them and the parameters were what they were suppose to be at 1.026!


I’ve done nothing different and using the same test kits and refractometer ! So weirdddd

 

[Tank2379]

Glad I’m not the only that feels this salt isn’t testing right. Using the salt for months realizing everything looked like it was dying all my alk, cal, mag readings were spot on. I did a water change a couple hours later I sent off an ICP test. Low and behold all or most of my trace elements weren’t in range at all. I was dosing all for reef at the time but idk if that had something to do with it or the All for Reef.

I did switch salts to Fauna Marin and everything bounced back but only bought a small box. I’ve since switched back to Aquaforest and notice today my skimmer is going nuts. I’ve notice this after every water change with Aquaforest but never experience it with Fauna Marin. So far everything has been ok but hope it’s not the salt. Just makes me wanna switch salts cause I can’t afford to lose out on any corals being lost.